Texas natives Matthew McConaughey and Lance Armstrong have long been buddies (who can forget those photos of the two of them jogging shirtless together?). So has the actor spoken to his friend following Lance’s two-night bombshell sit-down with Oprah?
Access
Hollywood’s Tim Vincent caught up with Matthew at the premiere of his
new film, “Mud,” at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where the
43-year-old star revealed he has indeed talked to Lance following the
doping confession and said the athlete is doing well.
While Matthew seems to be in a good place with Lance now, in an interview with MTV News on Saturday, he admitted he initially was very angry when he learned the seven-time Tour de France champion had cheated.
“My
first reaction was I was pissed off. I was mad,” he told MTV, adding
that he wanted to be “delicate” in how he spoke regarding the scandal.
“I then got kind of sad for him. First off, I had a part of me that took
it kind of personally, which I think a lot of people have.”
After giving the situation serious thought, Matthew said he realized he shouldn’t take the lies as a personal affront.
“What
I mean by this is, what was he supposed to do? Call me to the side and
go, ‘Hey man, I did it but don’t tell anybody.’ Then I would have really
had a reason to be pissed off at him, going, ‘You want me to walk
around holding this?’” he said. “Where I am now is I’ve put myself out
of the way and I am happy for this guy, who has now chosen to reenter
this new chapter of his life a truly free man.
Adding,
“And the weight he had on his shoulders, without the boogieman under
the bed, the skeleton in the closet that he’s carried for 14 years.
Fourteen years he lied and carried the lie with him.”
Matthew
agreed with what Oprah said multiple times during the shocking
interview, which is that finally telling the truth will liberate Lance,
but said he believes it will be a long, painful and humbling road.
“Oprah
said the other night, ‘The truth will set you free,’ but she forgot one
part. It’s miserable in the beginning. And it’s going to be miserable,”
he said. “But he’s looking it in the eye, and he’ll handle it. He’ll
deal. And he’s ready for how hard it’s going to be to deal.”
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